ALIVE: John Allen Chau may still be alive it has been claimed (Pic: PA)

KILLED: John Allen Chau was reportedly killed shortly after he arrived at the remote island (Pic: PA)

REMOTE: The tribe shuns all contact with outsiders and has been known to be violent (Pic: CHRISTIAN CARON)

Mr Chau’s close friend and fellow missionary, John Middleton Ramsey, has said the fact that no body has been found meant there is a chance he could still be alive.

He added that considering only one source had witnessed his body being dragged away means there is still uncertainty.

“I think there’s a possibility he may have survived – I wouldn’t rule it out,” he told The Sun.

“His mother is a Christian too and she has said that in her prayers that she had feelings that John might still be alive.

“And there weren’t a whole lot of eyewitnesses and so since his body hasn’t been found we shouldn’t rule it out, even if it is a small chance.”

YEARS: The tribe has lived relatively unchanged in their ways for thousands of years (Pic: PA)

LAWS: Indian law forbids anyone from making contact with the Sentinelese people (Pic: PA)

His family also appeared to express some doubt over whether he is dead.

A statement posted on John's Instagram page last week referred to his murder as “unconfirmed”, with his mum Linda also reportedly saying she holds out hope he is alive.

The young American is said to have hoped to visit the tribe to introduce them to Christianity and spread the word of Jesus.

However, the tribe, which has been known to shun any contact, apparently killed him with a barrage of poison arrows before tying him up with twine and dragging him around the island until he died.

ARROWS: It is reported the missionary was shot multiple times after he arrived on the island (Pic: PA)

Close pal, Mr Ramsey, who is now a real estate agent, says he believes John may have been planning his trip to the island since they were at school.

He said: “He went on a scouting trip to the area in 2016 – not to North Sentinel but to the main island to make some local connections.

“After returning he told me his plans to go back and it’s not like he was going to start preaching the Bible as soon as he reached the island, he first wanted to get to know the people a little bit.

“He told me he wanted to go alone rather than with the group just to seem as unthreatening as possible and bring some gifts to be endearing.”

MISSIONARY: John Allen Chau had hoped to teach the tribe about Jesus Christ (Pic: PA)

The Sentinelese are one of the few tribes that are not in contact with the rest of the world.

Attempts were made over the years to contact them, with anthropologists monitoring them from a distance and occasionally leaving gifts on the shore for them.

Although this type of contact has been rebuffed, with tribesmen even destroying presents left for them.

For these reasons, very little is known about their way of life.

However, they appear to have lived happy, if basic lives on their small, lush 20-square-mile island for the past 30,000 years.

Their day-to-day activities seem to consist of feeding on wild pigs, clams, and fruit, while they have wild group sex sessions on the beach.

Critics of Chau's fateful journey have said he must have known what he would encounter after well documented other attempts to meet the tribe – such as when two Indian fishermen were axed to death in 2006.

He wrote to his parents beforehand: “I think it’s worth it to declare Jesus to these people. Please do not be angry at them or at God if I get killed.”

The trip there during which he was reportedly killed came after another visit he made looking for the tribesmen.

He previously tried to land using a canoe with gifts including string, pins and a football but was forced away when the indigenous people fired arrows at him.

He later said the encounter made him all the more determined to meet them, saying he narrowly escaped death when one of their arrows was embedded in his Bible.